Wow!  Has it really been that long since I last blogged?!  Where has the time gone?  As you can probably guess or maybe experience for yourself, life gets a little hectic with 2 toddlers, teaching first grade and the many other "hats" we wear!

If your students are like mine, this time of year begins the tattling.  Ugh!  I found a book I am going to read to my class this week and thought I would share it with you.  It is called, "A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue" by Julia Cook.

This wonderful book is about a boy who tattles all the time.  Other students begin to not want to sit with him in the cafeteria, play with him on the playground, or be his friend.  One night he has a dream that he really did come down with a disease called "tattle tongue" which turned his tongue yellow with purple spots.  The tattle fairy taught him the difference between a tattle and warning someone of danger.  The tattle fairy teaches him some rules about tattling to use the next time he wants to tattle.

This book is very well written and gives some good guidelines for kids to follow when it comes to warning vs. tattling.

I also want to share the exciting news that I have finished my Morning Work packet for the second nine weeks.  It is Common Core aligned.  You can find it at my TpT store.  This packet picks up right where the first nine weeks leaves off.  I am very excited about how it turned out.  In the coming weeks, I will be working on the 3rd nine weeks packet.  My students have done well with the first packet and have really learned from the content and practice.

Click here to check out this packet.

I will try to blog more often and get you some pictures of things my kiddos are doing.  Have a super week!

School's In!

Wow!  I can't believe how time has flown by!  School is back in session now.  We are still reviewing rules and procedures.  I have a GREAT group of first graders.  They are beginning to settle in.  For some, that means they are ready to learn.  For others, that means it is time to see what they can get away with!

One of the first books I read to the class is a book called, Lacy Walker Nonstop Talker by Christianne C. Jones.  This is a cute story about a little owl named Lacy.  She likes to talk and talk and talk.  One morning, she wakes up and is unable to talk or even whisper.  She realizes her friend is really pretty funny, she receives a gold star for listening, and she is able to learn more when she listens.  At home, she had time to hear a couple bedtime stories instead of just one.  The next morning, Lacy wakes up and can talk again.  She is glad she can talk again but decides to try and listen more.  After reading this book, we had a class discussion on the importance of listening in class.

I recommend this book for the beginning of the school year!  Students enjoy the illustrations as well.

This year, we are going to be bucket fillers.  Many of you may already do this in your classroom.  I just found out about this fantastic book and how to use it in the classroom.  My class has really embraced this idea of everyone having an invisible bucket that can be filled or dipped into.  Last week, we spent most of the time identifying how to fill someone's bucket.  This week, we will be putting it into action.

Have a super "bucket filling"  week!

Oops!

Ugh!  I found a typing error in the last post, tried to fix it and couldn't.  It should say "if" you use discount code BTS13.  So sorry for the error.  That's what I get for typing fast and in a hurry!

Sale! Sale! Sale!

What a sale!  Teachers Pay Teachers is having a HUGE Back to School Sale!  Everything in my store will be 20% off tomorrow!  You can get even more savings is you use the discount code BTS13 when checking out!  Wow!  This is a must for all teachers or homeschooling parent out there. 

I have been busy in my classroom this week as well as preparing to send my oldest to preschool!  It is hard to believe that he is starting his school "career"!  (Sniff, Sniff)  I hope to have some pictures of my classroom for you this coming week as it looks now!

Vistaprint Treasures!

Time is ticking quickly by!  School for some is next week.  Our school starts the day after Labor Day!  It allows us a little more time to prepare and get ready!

One of the things I enjoy during the summer is to get items from Vistaprint!  I have used Vistaprint to print many things over the past 5 or more years!  Their products are good quality and have met the needs I've had.  This year is no different.  Below is a picture of what I've ordered for the start of this year.  It is a sampling.

Click here to check out what else Vistaprint has.



In this picture, you can see my Back to School Brochure in a monkey theme.  I also have a magnet in monkey theme with my contact information.  They had the same design for the pens.  I like to put my name on them.  It keeps them from walking away when I have a substitute or if someone borrows my pens!  (Just a little idea!)  Another item in the picture is a note pad.  The content on the note pad is for a student time out in another classroom.

The other thing pictured is our year of sight words/"trick words" (for those familiar with Fundations by Wilson Learning).  All the words are printed on a rack card which has a glossy finish. Parents can check off the words using a dry erase marker as their child reads the word to them.  This is a quick and easy way for parents to practice these words with their child.  I put these in my Back to School/Meet the Teacher night packet with my brochure, magnet and a bag of unpopped popcorn.  I'll try to get a picture of the finished packet next week for you to see.  Below are some close up pictures of the note pad and the rack card.

This year, I ordered the rack cards for the whole district first grade to give to the parents.  In the past, I have also ordered their small self-inking stamps that say things like, "Completed together in class", "Mrs. Schneider", "Confidential", and "This is STAR work!"  Last year, I ordered loyalty cards with option of 10 punches for my reward system.  When students were on purple 10 times, they were able to visit the treasure box.  There are so many possibilities with the products that are available.  I hope you have fun shopping!

Lunch Count and Attendance

Before we get to the great idea for today's post, I want to share some TpT news!  I am thrilled with one of my newest items for sale on Teachers Pay Teachers!  It is a set of morning work activities for the first 9 weeks grading period.  Our school uses a four 9 weeks grading period.  Included in the packet is a practice page that can be completed as a whole class so the kiddos learn how to complete the activities.  There is also a separate page that can be included in a "sub tub" or folder!  I am working on the second 9 weeks and hope to have it ready before school starts.

                                                          Click here to go to my TpT store.

I also have posted on TpT a "No Germs" mini lesson/activity that is good for back to school or when flu season hits.  This packet includes a lap book.  These little books are GREAT for Daily 5 book boxes!

The latest item was a Fire Safety packet which also includes a lap book.  As you can see, I've been busy this week!  I love creating and making things for my classroom and am excited to share them with you!

                                                   Click here to go to my TpT store.

Okay, now for my Lunch Count/Attendance idea I promised to share.  Some of you may already do this and can maybe share some ideas as well.  Last year, I wanted a more organized and easier way to take lunch count and attendance.  I found a portable bulletin board at Walmart, covered it with paper and attached Velcro pieces to it dividing it into 4 sections with yarn.  This year, I wised up a little.  I used contact paper instead of bulletin board paper and ribbon to divide the sections.  At the start of the school year, I took my camera with us to lunch and took a picture of the main dish on the trays (spaghetti, grilled cheese, hamburger, etc.).  I would print out the pictures on 4 X 6 paper or at Walmart instant prints.

Place the picture of the lunch choice at the top of the board.  Each student has their name on a laminated card.  When they enter in the morning, the student moves his/her card to their lunch choice.  (I have a section for packers on the board but forgot to show this on the picture below.)  The names remaining in the far right section are the ones who are absent for the day!  I usually ask the class if anyone has seen those students in the building or on the bus before marking them absent.  This was such a quick and easy way to take attendance and got my lunch count done at the same time!  Hope this idea is one you can use as well.

Back to School FREEBIE!

Back again!  This time with a back to school FREEBIE!  I have been busy creating this week along with working in my classroom a little bit. 

We use Daily 5 in our building.  For those not familiar with this, it is a reading "program" with 5 basic elements:  Read to Self, Read to Someone, Work with Words, Work on Writing, and Listen to Reading.  Students are given time each day/week to do all these things.  Mini-lessons are taught between rotations.  Students each have a book box to keep books that they can read to themselves or others.

I love giving students books that they can read and enjoy.  Today's FREEBIE is one of these books I will be giving my students this fall.  It is my gift to you to start your book boxes with your students!  I also have my students put their library books and bookmobile books in these boxes as well.

Click here to download your free lap book!

Check back at the end of the week for an idea for taking attendance and lunch count in seconds!

Back to School?!?!

Is it really August already?!  The summer is going by so quickly!  Yesterday, the custodians opened up the building for a few grade levels to get into their rooms for a couple of days.  To my surprise they had repainted my room!  It looks fantastic!!!  Thank you Trish and Linda!  I know you don't know what it looked like before, but it needed a face lift.  Below are some pictures of the new look.

Part of me is very excited about being back in the classroom and getting it put together for the year.  The other part of me wants a few more weeks of summer to spend with my little boys.

One of the things that I have worked on was my schedule board for this year.  Last year, I had a student who benefited from having a visual schedule.  I quickly put together one of these boards to use in my class with an ocean theme.  It worked GREAT!  The whole class benefited from seeing the schedule.  It really reduced the number of, "When's lunch?"comments!  I have created other design themes for schedule boards and put them on my TpT store.  This year, my theme is "Swinging into First Grade" using monkeys.  My schedule board is a free standing bulletin board from Walmart.  Instead of covering it with paper or material as I had done last year, I used white contact paper that would stick to the cork.  This way, when the labels are taken off of the board after each part of our day, the pulling will not loosen the paper or material.  I am excited with how the board turned out!

Click here to go to my TpT store to see the other designs.

Check back in the next couple of days for more ideas and maybe another Freebie?!

A Big Thank You and More!

Wow!!! A big "Thank You" to Alicia from Dreamlike Magic for the new look of my blog!!!  I am soooo excited with how it looks!  I also want to give a big "Thank You" to Jodi  from "Fun in First" blog for her encouragement and for answering some of my questions on getting started.

Now for some "good stuff"!  On my TpT store, I have some "Go Togethers".  My son is 4 and going to preschool.  One of the things they like him to do is be able to sort things that go together.  I created these cards for him to practice at home.  Below is a picture of him playing.

Click here to go to my TpT store.

As I was looking at our First Grade Common Core standards, I saw one that says to "Identify real-life connections between words and their use {e.g., note places at home that are cozy}."  The "Go Togethers" would make a great practice activity, even though they are pictures and not words.  They could be used for some fun discussions!

Also on my TpT store is my Back to School Bundle FREEBIE! This freebie was mentioned in an earlier post.  It contains a phone log, blank "To Do" lists, substitute response form, substitute survival guide, and a newsletter form for each grade level K-5!

Below are some sample pages:

 *I tried to fix the resolution on these but could not get them clearer.  You can go to my TpT store to get a better look.

Stay tuned in the next couple of days for more ideas and items added to my TpT store!

FREEBIE!

As you can see, this blog is still under construction!  I am not as tech savvy as others.  Anyway.....I have opened my Teachers Pay Teachers store!  You can view my items there!  I have included 2 Freebies for you to enjoy.  There will be more items for purchase coming in the days ahead.



Hello!

I am so excited to be joining the blogging world!  This blog is "under construction".  Please check back for a FREEBIE coming soon!